Night at the Theatre with Ann Richards and Gloria Steinem

My step-mom is a huge fan of Ann Richards, democrat governor of Texas. Holland Taylor recently wrote a play about her and actually plays her in the one woman show Ann at Lincoln Center. Holland never met Ann, but was inspired by her after Ann passed away in the mid 2000's.

The play was amazing and to our surprise there was a talk back with Gloria Steinem, the woman who is a key leader in the feminist movement, who knew Ann. Holland came out before the talk back started, and said that this play is "about a woman who believed in living all the way," and that it is not meant to be political even though it evokes politics.

Holland Taylor dressed up as Ann Richards (in white), Gloria Steinem and
one of the producers of the play. Michelle and I sat in the second row.

Holland explained that of course women are inspired by her. She made women feel like they have ground to stand on, solid ground. Men already have the privilege to have ground to stand on, but young men who were around her felt like they could fly. Everyone was effected by her and that's why she wrote the play.

Gloria went on to say that alcohol, divorce and ambition never stopped letting her be a valuable woman. The talk back went on to discuss modern feminism, the Defense of Marriage Act as well as Senator Wendy Davis who is right now trying to continue filibustering an act in Texas that would close many abortion clinics.

One thing that Gloria and Ann hit me hard - that anyone and everyone should try to participate in politics, that we need people to represent us.

I don't see myself as being a politician, but I think the best way to serve my country is by making sure our government is transparent and reporting on their actions to inform the public.

And then, Gloria went on to say that women know that we can do what men do, but men don't know that they can do what women do. We, as a society, "don't expect men to be real parents" and they miss out because of it.

I always think about this: What am I going to do when I have children? Am I going to stay home? More and more I think to myself that I don't want to give up a full time job because I love working, then coming home to my family and telling them the amazing things I do. I know over time things may change over time, but right now I'm very happy working and wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Monday!

After dodging tourists and NYC bus tours salesmen, a grin pops on my face. Every morning before I go to FAIR, just as I walk to the subway I see a newspaper man. 

I swear, he is probably the happiness man in the city and I started getting the paper from him last week.

He always has a huge smile, laughing and always talking to someone. 

He stands at the top of the stairs, handing out newspapers and wishes me a good day at work. 

"Happy Monday! Happy, happy Monday! Have a good day at work, young lady!" 

Just one nice person can really brighten your day. 

No One Deserves Hate: Discrimination on the Subway

I walked down the stairs to the subway on Friday. I was on my way to see my friend Annie for lunch in Union Square, when I saw a woman yelling.

Her hair was tousled and unkempt, her clothes and backpack dirty. She was yelling. At first I thought she was just yelling in general, about the subway or something, but then I noticed that she was following a family as they went up the stairs.

I don't know how it started, but everyone on the platform was watching, and I was still on the stairs, creeping my way down slowly. The husband walked slowly and spoke back to the woman - distracting her as his wife held their child's hand and headed up the stairs.

The family quickly left and the woman followed them - yelling - and spat in their direction. At that point I was on the platform. Everyone still watching.

You can already tell that she was targeting them, trying to make her presence and feelings known. Just think, you and your family are traveling and someone comes and is very aggressive to you? What do you think would cause such a thing? In this case, it was clear discrimination.

What I didn't tell you, is that the family was Muslim. At least, that's what the angry woman thought. The wife was wearing a light blue hijab and the woman aggressively commented on it. The woman also said something along the lines of "people like you shouldn't be in this country."

Recently at FAIR, I have been looking at how Islam is portrayed in the media. I am not a specialist on religious studies or media, but in a class last semester I learned how the media over time has picked specific groups to, in lack of a better words, "call the bad guys" or consider "the other," meaning that they are not accepted. Media does this by portraying a group as unfavorable which prolongs discrimination. This happened with newspapers in the 1800's - 1900's that promoted lynchings and slavery. People fought against discrimination by creating their own newspapers, like The Liberator, in order to have an alternative voice.

We, the media, have such a great power; we shape society's ideas and ideologies, we inform and educate, and overall send a strong message.

Right now, commentators say intolerant things about practitioners of this religion, and all the while push ignorance and fear onto the public. "Our" message, is a message of hate.

On Friday, though, I saw this hate embody itself in a woman confronting a family on the subway.

I keep playing this scene in my head, and I wanted to jump into action on the platform.

One idea I had went like this: I would confront the angry woman and explain everything to her. The media is lying to you! This family didn't cause 9/11, it was extremists that many believe do not honor Allah. I would tell her that she is perpetuating hate that we are trying to overcome. We live in America and this country belongs to this family as much as it belongs to you and me. 

Probably not the best idea. It is very difficult to try to convince someone that what they are doing is wrong in a peaceful manner. One way to stop this hate is through education, but I am not particularly good at this. It's difficult for me to articulate ideas when under pressure.

I also hate to say this, but Michelle pointed it out last night when I told her about this situation. When traveling alone in NYC, my main priority should be to keep myself safe. Confronting this woman, who was very aggressive, would question my safety.

The second way I could have handled this is more realistic. I imagined myself going onto the side of the stairs that the family was on, and block the wife and child from the woman yelling at them. At the top of the stairs, ask them if they were alright and see if they needed anything. Then, I would head down, and the angry woman would probably recognize me and start yelling. I would tell her, "No one deserves hate, no one deserves to be discriminated against." Yes. That sounds very heroic - like a movie or advertisement, but I believe that statement is true.

But, no. I didn't do a thing. No one did anything, they just watched, shocked at what was happening and then everything just ended. People quietly discussed how weird that was and started talking about the musician sitting on the platform, as if nothing happened.

I saw them at the top of the stairs and watched. They were alright. Upset, but alright. And then they just walked away.

All I could think about was that family; what I should have done. Regret lingered with me all weekend. I knew that it only takes one person to get a group of bystanders to act, but I didn't have the courage at that moment. Now, I think the only way I can change this type of hate is by making sure my work does not promote it.

Weekend Sightseeing (Part Two): Sunday Funday

I know what you're thinking: No, Clement and I did not go bar hopping on Sunday. Instead we did a bunch of other cool things.

The Intrepid! 

I have visited the USS Intrepid about three or four times since I was little, but it was great to go on a warm day with Clement. The Intrepid is this beautiful aircraft carrier that is now a museum.

Usually, my parents drag me out of bed early so we beat the lines, but Clement and I didn't do that. Sunday is my one day off, so I wanted to sleep in! We showed up at the museum an hour after it opened and only waited a few minutes to buy tickets. I think it is usually pretty busy on the weekends, but it's best to go before lunch to avoid large crowds. We also purchased student tickets, which are slightly discounted ($20). They're still a bit pricey but -- hey -- you're going on an aircraft carrier. It's worth it on a college budget.

The Growler submarine.

If there aren't a lot of people ahead of you, you should go on the submarine. I've never been on it because, well, I'm not sure how to put this lightly but my Dad is a giant. So, no submarines until now. I couldn't believe how many people fit in the Growler submarine -- there were so many tightly packed beds. The crew must have been huge!

Then, we went to the hanger (inside the ship) and talked to a volunteer about some of the historical morale badges and patches the men wore. It turns out, there was actually a basketball league on the ship. The teams were broken up according to different jobs and they would play in the hanger. Most of the men were 19-24 years old and playing a sport brought up morale. 

Here are some of the morale badges. 

When we were in the hanger, we saw a bunch of tours going on. Next time I go, I will probably take a tour because there is so much information that I've missed over the years - like the morale patches. It will cost more, but if I went with a big group of people it might be worth it.

Clement and I played some of the games in the hanger (turns out, I'm really bad at keeping a ship afloat) and then we went to the best part of the ship -- THE FLIGHT DECK. There are so many cool helicopters and fighter planes at the museum. (The Enterprise space shuttle is also there, but the exhibit reopens in a few weeks).  The deck also has a great view of the city. 

After visiting the flight deck, Clement and I left the museum. We were hungry and wanted to eat on the water, and we spotted this little restaurant next the the ship. The host sat us, telling us that only cash is accepted. We started looking at the menu... it was $10-12 dollars for a burger without fries... it's not like I could have cocktails but they were the same price... Then we saw something shocking --- paying for water. Clement and I looked at each other. "Want to leave?" "Yes. I am not paying for water."

Good thing we left, because we went to the BBQ Block Party! One of the reporters at FOX 5 did a story on this even the day before, how could I forget about this?! Clement and I ran to the subway and went to Madison Square Park, just a short walk from Union Square. Once again, if I was with my parents they would take me to this event first thing in the morning but Clement and I went half way through the day. I wish we went earlier because there were SO MANY LINES. The park was hopping, and honestly this was probably the highlight of our weekend.

These are Baker's Ribs. They were cooked
Louisiana style. I don't know what that means
but it was great!

There were so many tents set up with beautiful BBQ, and the pitmasters were from all over the country. Each plate was $9, which is a really good price for a dump of food in NYC. We meandered around, trying to find short lines, and we found a side street with two tents with shorter lines that were moving fast. Clement and I got into the lines. I went to HillCountry, which is a restaurant in NYC, for beef brisket and pickles, and Clement went to Baker's ribs from Texas, for ribs and coleslaw. We sat on the curb and started to devour the meat. It was amazing.

The BBQ disappeared so fast that I didn't take a picture. The ribs were perfect competition ribs. I watch a lot of BBQ shows on Food Network and supposedly competition ribs should not just "fall off the bone," you should slightly tug them and then they easily come off. With a good rub and some sauce. I have been dreaming about ribs like this for years - just don't tell my Dad because I love his ribs too. (He cooks BBQ ribs a lot but these were a completely different experience). The coleslaw was also great because it was vinegary and crisp. The brisket was great too, good bark and the pickles were very tasty.

After eating, Clement and I sat in the park for a little and just relaxed. Then we went to a cool store Michelle likes called Fishes Eddy which has corky and vintage dinnerware. The store has city skyline pattern dinnerware with famous buildings. I love it!

We went to Union Square afterwards and then took the subway back to the apartment. For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the apartment, which was a nice way to end our weekend. I have to figure out what we'll do next because we covered in one weekend. Luckily, there are endless possibilities in NYC.

Citi Bike: NYC bike share program

Citibike stations map of the city.
www.treehugger.com

There are 6,000 bikes and 300 stations in NYC. They're a part of a Citi Bike, NYC's bike share program, that I believe is sponsored by Citibank. People can rent out a bike for a couple of hours and return it to a station.

The program started Memorial Day weekend, which is when I first came to the city. I few things popped through my mind when I first saw them. I was worried, originally, because there are so many cars in the city and a ton of traffic. In my opinion, bikers are prone to injuries, especially in heavily populated areas.  

On the other hand, this could be a good thing. Cities like Portland, Oregon, have successfully implemented bike share programs and increased the number of bike routs throughout the city. This is environmentally friendly.

And I'm not sure how to say this in a non-granola crunchy way, but I go to Ithaca College, you excepted this. There is always the hope that maybe NYC will help "Mother Earth." I can dream, right?

Well, The New York Times published an article today about some technical problems with the bike share. The bike stations sometimes will not process payments or will not allow people to return the bikes. The customer service line, according to the article, has been very busy over the past two weeks and will leave people on hold for 45 minutes. The best thing to report though, is that no one has been injured while riding these bikes.

I haven't used the bikes yet, but everyday I pass empty stations. We'll see if I get tired of the subway.

Citi Bike station. www.treehugger.com